Departmental review limitation under Customs law depends on proof of communication date; unsupported delay claims cannot defeat time bar findings.

Section 129D of the Customs Act, 1962 requires the Department's review order to be made within three months from the date of communication of the adjudication order, and the Department must prove that date with reliable evidence. Where the record does not establish when the Order-in-Original was received by the reviewing authority, the Commissioner (Appeals) may rely on the available material and treat the review as time barred. The Tribunal found no basis to disturb that conclusion because the Department failed to substantiate a later date of receipt. The limitation-based dismissal of the departmental appeal was therefore upheld.

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Issues: Whether the Department's review order under Section 129D of the Customs Act, 1962 was passed within the prescribed period of three months computed from the date of communication of the adjudication order, and whether the Commissioner (Appeals) was in dismissing the departmental appeal as time barred.

Analysis: Section 129D(3) requires the review order to be made within three months from the date of communication of the decision or order of the adjudicating authority. The record did not establish before the Commissioner (Appeals) the date on which the Order-in-Original was received by the reviewing authority, and repeated requests to produce the original files did not yield supporting evidence. In the absence of reliable proof of timely receipt, the Commissioner (Appeals) adopted the available material and treated the review as beyond time. The Tribunal found no basis to displace that conclusion, especially when the Department failed to substantiate its claim that the order had been received on a later date.

Conclusion: The departmental challenge to the finding of limitation failed, and the dismissal of the appeal as time barred was upheld.

Ratio Decidendi: Where Section 129D of the Customs Act, 1962 prescribes a review period from the date of communication of the adjudication order, the Department must establish that date by reliable evidence; failing such proof, a finding that the review is time barred will stand.

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